Warning Out on Lead-Containing Spray Paints from Thailand Sold Locally
(Group calls for strict enforcement of the lead paint ban as the National Poison Prevention Week is observed)
22 June 2025, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition sounded the alarm bell over the continued sale of lead-containing spray paints from Thailand such as those already flagged by the authorities, in blatant violation of the lead paint ban.
The group, a vigilant campaigner for lead-safe paints and products, warned against the persistent importation, distribution and sale of leaded Nikko Spray All-Purpose Quick Drying High Gloss Acrylic despite the state policy banning lead paints, or paints with lead above the legal limit of 90 parts per million (ppm).
As part of its continuing campaign to ensure strict compliance with the lead paint ban to protect the health of children, workers and other vulnerable groups, the EcoWaste Coalition bought samples of Nikko Spray Paint from paint stores in Pasay and Quezon Cities.
Of the eight Nikko Spray Paint samples purchased, lead above 90 ppm was not detected on the olive green, orange, silver red, Chevy orange (hi-temp engine coating), and yellow (hi-temp flameproof coating) colors.
On the other hand, lead above 90 ppm was detected on the dark green (780 ppm), orange red (4,092 ppm), and leaf green (5,887 pppm) variants of Nikko Spray Paint.
The group used an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer to screen the said paints for total lead content.
Laboratory tests commissioned by the EcoWaste Coalition had previously confirmed the presence of lead on seven other variants of Nikko Spray Paints such as light yellow (1,170 ppm), wool beige (2,820 ppm), green (8,130 ppm), grass green (10,700 ppm), apple green (15,800 ppm), yellow (19,800 ppm), and medium yellow (52,200 ppm).
In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) flagged the light yellow Nikko Spray Paint after laboratory tests “detected significant levels of lead which exceeded the maximum limit of 90 ppm.” And in 2024, the grass green Nikko Spray Paint was similarly flagged after being “found to be non compliant with the existing standards, and thus pose potential hazards to the general public.”
However, the flagged products remain available to consumers despite the issuance of FDA advisories sternly warning concerned establishments not to distribute the violative spray paints, the EcoWaste Coalition observed.
While the paint can labeling of Nikko Spray Paint provides for some precautionary warnings, nothing was mentioned about the product’s lead content and the risks of lead exposure, the group also noted.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), which lists lead among the 10 chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern, “lead is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children and can suffer profound and permanent adverse health effects, particularly affecting the development of the brain and nervous system.”
“It also causes long-term harm in adults, including increased risk of high blood pressure and kidney damage. Exposure of pregnant women to high levels of lead can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and low birth weight. There is no permissible level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects,” the WHO said.
To protect vulnerable populations from the adverse effects of lead exposure, the government of the Philippines through a Chemical Control Order issued in 2013 banned the use of lead in paint manufacturing, and directed the phase-out of lead-containing decorative and industrial paints by December 2016 and December 2019, respectively.
The said regulation, which obtained the prestigious Future Policy Award in 2021 (special category on lead paint), applies to paint manufacturers, importers and distributors. Paints sold locally, including those sourced overseas, must not exceed the 90 ppm limit, the most stringent standard for lead in paint across the world.
The persistent sale of imported leaded paints prompted the EcoWaste Coalition to co-publish a “Public Notice on Lead-Containing Paints” with the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) and the Philippine Paint and Coatings Association, Inc. (PCCAI) to inform and guide consumers. The notice can be accessed at: https://www.ecowastecoalition.org/leadspraypaints/
The EcoWaste Coalition emphasized the need for strict monitoring of compliance to the country’s lead paint ban as the National Poison Prevention Week is observed from June 22 to 28 as per Presidential Proclamation No. 1777, series of 2009. The annual observance is led by the Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Society of Clinical and Occupational Toxicology (PSCOT), and the National Poison Management and Control Center (NPMCC). ###
Reference:
https://chemical.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DAO-2013-24-CCO-Lead.pdf
https:///www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health
https://lawphil.net/executive/proc/proc2009/proc_1777_2009.html
